Good Food: The Best Pancakes

The last time I made pancakes, I used the recipe from How to Cook Everything. They did not turn out well. I had been dreaming of fluffy pancakes with a little crispness. What I got was thin and rubbery frisbees, a big disappointment! Now, I am not blaming Mark Bittman--I think there is a good chance that the problem had something to do with yours truly. But ever since then, I have been wondering how you make good pancakes from scratch. I mean, pancakes are supposed to be easy, right?

Well, I did a little research and found a wonderful pancake recipe. These pancakes were SO good. I adapted a recipe I found on the msnbc website, in an article on making perfect pancakes. It is worth a read if you long to make restaurant-style pancakes at home! I think one of the big revelations for me was that it's better to brush the skillet with vegetable oil, rather than throw in some butter before you cook each pancake. Anyway, here is the recipe:

--Crack 2 large eggs into a large bowl and whisk them until they foam up, and you see lots of bubbles.
--Whisk in 1 1/2 c. buttermilk, 3 T melted butter, and 1/2 t vanilla.
--Stir together 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, 3 T sugar, 2 t baking powder, 1/2 t salt, and 1/2 t baking soda in a separate medium-sized bowl.
--Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisking them together briefly after each addition. Mix until just smooth--don't overmix!
--Heat up your skillet--medium heat works for me. If it is the perfect temperature, when you flick a little water into the pan, small droplets will bead up and bounce around. If the water evaporates immediately, that means the pan is too hot.
--When the pan is ready, brush it with vegetable or canola oil. Do this before every new pancake!
--Pour 1/3 cup of the pancake mix onto the griddle.
--Turn the pancake when the edges look dry and there are a few dry-edged bubbles visible on top. The underside should be honey-colored.
--After your first pancake, correct the mixture so that the consistency is just right. Is it too thick to spread out in the pan? I had to add about 1/4 cup of milk to mine.
--I garnished ours with powdered sugar (an excuse to use my new sugar shaker) and sliced strawberries.

Enjoy!

-Kristin

PS I realize I need to work on my food photography. Maybe another goal should be to learn how to take a good picture!